The 20th Annual Hunger Games
by Nahfie Runastoria
Summary: A 14-year-old girl from District 9 is chosen to be one of 24 children fighting to the death in the Hunger Games. Will young Cazzie Blye be able to survive these games and emerge as Victor, or is she doomed to fall like so many others?
1. Reaped

"Cazzie Blye!" My name ran out over the silence. Orien, my district escort, smiled as he beckoned me onto the stage. People who knew me turned, shock and sadness already spilling over their faces. I was still dealing with the shock part. Could it be that I was going to participate in the 20th Annual Hunger Games? Was I about to go into an arena where I was likely to die within the first few minutes of combat? That was my name he had called, wasn't it? Cazzie Blye of District 9? People were pushing me out of my seat now, and I walked mechanically to the stage.

I shook hands with Analex Loverose and Nergan Mil, my new mentors, who were smiling sadly as they congratulated me. I managed a smile, then collapsed onto a chair as they called Maxis Madrone, a sixteen-year-old boy I hardly knew. They were going through the final motions as I sat there blankly, not yet feeling afraid but definitely feeling unprepared. I guess I would be as prepared as anyone after the Games training, though. I just had to hope I would be good enough to win. How likely was that, though?


	2. Parents

The reaping ended and I managed to process that I was involved, when I was led to the Justice Building. I sat in the room waiting for my parents, who came in one at a time. My father came first, looking unsure of himself, and as he sat down across from me I managed to say, "Don't let Drevan take out any tesserae." He looked up at me. "Don't talk like that, Cazzie. Don't act like you're going to…" He stopped. "Promise, Dad." He sighed heavily, then wrenched a smile out of the depths of his emotions. "Alright, Caz. I promise. And remember, you can run. You can run, and you can hide, and you're not that bad with a knife, either. Just try your best in training and take all of your mentor's advice, and you'll be fine, okay? We'll put all of our extra money into your fund-" "No, don't do that. What if you need it to pay for food later on? Keep it. I'll survive for as long as I can." "Caz… Cazzie… we both love you, your mother and I, and we want you to come home, okay? We'll be watching, we promise. We'll do what we can." And before I could refuse his offer again, he had got up and left. I noticed a tear shining on his eye just as he was leaving.

My mom came in right after. Her smile was soft and sad. "Hey, baby. Feeling aright?" I shook my head. "I'm not sure," I replied truthfully. She shook her head sadly. "Listen up. Heaven knows you can hide, and you're good enough with your survival skills. We all believe that you can do this. Just train hard and listen to your mentors, alright?" "That's what dad said. I made him promise and you have to promise too, that just in case, if I don't win, you won't let Drevan take out tesserae. You'll be able to afford more for him if you don't have to pay to feed me, too." "Cazzie. Babe. We'll be sending your food money to pay for supplies for you. And before you argue, if we can get you enough supplies, you'll be more likely to win. And if you win, there won't be any worries about food anymore, will there?"

"Your money will just be-"

"Caz. Stay positive, alright? We all love you, and soon enough you'll be coming home safe and sound, got it? I'm sending Drevan in." My mom gave me a quick hug, then stood up and left. I knew full well that she was holding a picture of me in her mind, a picture that had amped up my skills to a ridiculous level and beaten down all of my weaknesses. She wasn't going to believe that I could die until I did.


	3. Friends

The door opened again, and my six-year-old brother came in. He looked at me strangely. Then he said, "Am I never gonna see you again?" My eyes suddenly filled with tears. If there was anything that could affect me deeply, it was Drevan. I blinked them back, then thought about how to best answer his questions. "No, buddy. I'll be on the television, and I might be back here too." He looked up at me. "You're playing in those games they put on the television. Tell me more about them." I picked him up, sat him on my lap, and looked into his eyes. "When you turn twelve, you'll learn more about these games. They're not important to you right now. I'm going to go play in them, and you'll get to see me, okay? If I win, we'll get a new house, and food for the rest of our lives." "What if you don't win? You'll still come back, won't you?" I sighed. How was I going to explain this? "No, I won't come back. I get picked up and taken where all of the losers go." "Where's that?" Drevan demanded. "Somewhere secret. No one knows until they get there." That was true enough. "Can I visit you?" I shifted him to my other side. "You won't know where to find me. I couldn't send you any messages either. You might come to stay with me, though. After a while." He shook his head. "I don't get it." I sighed. "Neither do I, buddy. But you'll see me soon, okay? On the television. Got it?" He slid off of my legs. "Yeah." I smiled. "Good. Now, you go back out there, and do what Mom and Dad tell you, okay?" I stood, walked him to the door, and opened it. He walked out. I collapsed back into my chair and briskly wiped away the tears that had come tumbling out of my eyes before I could stop them.

The next person to come in was Liday , one of my best friends. She looked at me sadly, then sat down across from me. "Hey." She spoke quietly. "Hey, Liday. Guess this means I'm missing your birthday, huh?" She sighed. "Guess so." There was silence for a few moments. Then Liday seemed to remember something. She looked up and said, "Remember a few weeks ago, when Komet and I were kicking around that makeshift ball of ours, and it got stuck in the tree?" I frowned. "Yeah, why?" "Well, we called you up to get it out. And you climbed that tree and got down in just a few seconds. Your tree climbing skills are amazing, and I bet you'll be in a forest for these games. You can run, too. I know you can do this. You're better than you think you are." She sighed, stood, and then ruffled my hair as she said, "Good luck at training."

My next visitor was anther friend of mine, Komet. She reminded me that I could run, climb trees, and hide, and added another piece of advice – "Remember, Cazzie, it's all about personality. From what I've seen, if you manage to soften the hearts of the Capitol, they'll want to sponsor you. Make sure your stylist knows that! You'd be perfect for a sweet, innocent young girl role – you're only thirteen, and I don't think any of the tributes so far are younger than you. The Capitolites (Our nickname for them) are a shallow bunch. Give them a good show, a cute story, make yourself lovable, and you'll get sponsors. That's one of the most important things in the Games." She stood. "I'll go get Mimet." "Thanks," I said weakly as she left.

I was sure Mimet was my last visitor. I wasn't close enough to anyone else here. She walked into the room. Her hand was clutched in a fist. "Hi," I said, trying to sound casual, but sure I was failing. She looked at me in silence. Them she held out her hand, and opened her fist. "Take this as your token." She was quiet, but I knew it was an order. I took the object she was holding from her hand. It was a small circle of glass, with a wheat seed in the center. There was an inscription around the edge. The Smallest Things Have The Biggest Impact. I remembered giving it to Mimet on her birthday. She said, "I know it's mine. But you should have it. It's something that always reminds me of you, and maybe it will remind you of us. And I'll be wanting it back." Mimet closed my hand over it, then ran out of the room. I frowned. Why did she tell me she wanted it back? She knew the tokens weren't returned to anyone after the tribute died. The only reason she would give it to me would be if she knew I would come back, which she didn't.


	4. Analex and Nergan

I sighed and sat back down, waiting for a Peacekeeper to come get me. The door opened again, and I stood, ready to be led to the train. The Peacekeeper looked young, maybe seventeen. He smiled at me, but it was a cruel smile. "You're a pretty young thing, aren't you? It will be sad to watch you get ripped to shreds." He grabbed my hand, and dragged me unceremoniously to the train. I got on and began walking around.

I heard Maxis, Analex, and Nergan get on the train behind me. "Cazzie!" Analex called. She was only twenty, having won at eighteen two years ago by hiding until only three people were left. I had watched as she threw knives from trees at the last of the Careers. Now, she was smiling brightly. She still seemed young. She suddenly enveloped me in a tight hug, then stood back to look at me. "You look loveable," she quipped in her bright, careless voice. Her sleek brown hair nearly reached her waist, and her olive skin was soft and clean. She obviously hadn't let the Games destroy her.

I couldn't exactly say the same about Nergan. He was thirty-five. He had fought in the second Hunger Games when he was sixteen, but I didn't know how he had won. I wasn't alive then, and I doubted he liked to talk about it. He seemed gruff. He was surveying Maxis. "Yes… I suppose… with work…" He was muttering to himself. He seemed to be much more realistic about things than happy, bright Analex.

They both led us to the television room, where we were instructed to sit. The television was off. I sat in the couch and instantly never wanted to get up – the couch was the most comfortable thing I had ever sat in. I felt almost like I was being swallowed in the plush velvet cushions. Nergan told us our escort wanted a quick word with us, and that once he was done we could go to our rooms.


	5. The Train

Orien was on the train not much later. He smiled as he came into the television room. I could see jewels of all different colors implanted into all of his visible teeth. His silvery hair was short and seemed to sparkle. "Hello, Cazzie. Hello Maxis. How are you?" He didn't wait for us to answer. "I just want you to know that you have just as much of a chance as anyone of winning the games. You see other people who look older and stronger, but you have skills too, and there's always training. I'll be rooting for you." He smiled again, then said, "I'm off to my room. You should be off to yours as well. Dinner is at seven o'clock precisely. Don't be late!"

Maxis went off with Nergan to his room. Analex held out her hand to help me off of the couch. "These couches are so _comfortable_ aren't they? I love the train. It's got great food and the rooms are just – well, you can see for yourself, eh? Here's your room." Analex opened the door, and I went in.

It was a simple room. The main color was undoubtedly green. Dark green curtains covered the window, the walls were a pale pastel green, the bed sheets were forest green, and when I looked into the bathroom I saw a checkerboard pattern of light green and dark green tiles. The only thing that wasn't green was the dresser, which was a simple dark wood-paneled chest containing all styles of clothes. The shower looked intriguing, having way more knobs and buttons than I had ever found necessary, and I decided that since my clothes were at least two days old, I would shower and change. I pulled an outfit from the dresser, not paying much attention to it, then stepped into the bathroom. I pulled my clothes off, suddenly becoming very aware of the dirt that was covering my body. I had been mostly planting seeds this year, and had been working in dirt constantly. My light red hair was down and brushed for once so it would look good for the reaping, but I didn't think it was very clean either. I reached for one of the knobs and twisted it, hoping for something that would clean me.

Lemon scented water gushed forth from the showerhead. It was far too hot, though, so I began twisting the knob until it was a decent temperature. I stood under the water, then decided things were getting a bit too boring, and began trying out a few new buttons. A soapy substance joined the water, washing me without me having to lift a finger, then different fragrances joined the mix, until I smelled like a fruit stand and a flower stand had had a collision. I pressed a button that stopped all scents from jetting out at me except one – a chemical scent that soon faded, taking with it every other smell that had sat on my body.

Now, being clean and smell-free, I turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, quickly enveloping myself in a light green, fluffy towel that almost instantly dried me. I placed it back on its hook, then put on the clothes I had grabbed for myself. They turned out to be a simple brown sleeveless button up top and a pair of denim Capri shorts. I returned to my room, where I found myself a long grey coat that was warm and comfortable, and a pair of red-brown boots. I pulled all of these on, then looked at the time. I had an hour until dinner. Well, I thought as I lay down on my bed, I wouldn't be needed until then, would I? I could just… catch up on my sleep…


	6. Dinner

I woke up at 6:55, knowing instantly that I had to get to the dining car, wherever that was. I left my room, deciding to turn left. I got lucky. After passing the television room, I found the dining car, the single, long table set up with glittering plates, glasses, and silverware. Orien was sitting at the head of the table, with Analex and Nergan at either side. Maxis hadn't made it yet. "Cazzie! You're on time." Orien acted as if this was the best thing that could have possibly happened. I sat next to Analex, who seemed much more amiable than Nergan. It was only a minute before Maxis had joined us, and then a door opened into the dining car.

A woman walked in carrying a roast pig on a tray. A boy holding a tray carrying six small roasted birds quickly followed her. Once the meat was on our table, soups, salads, pasta, bread, and roasted and stuffed vegetables followed. I sat and watched as I was handed foods that I had never seen before, and when the table was laden, I hadn't the slightest idea where to start. I reached out and grabbed the first thing I touched, which was a salad filled with vegetables I had never seen in District 9. I guessed the Capitol had grown them, and placed some on my plate. I stuck a thick purple leaf on the edge of my fork, and tasted it. It was almost fruity tasting, with an interesting texture. I wolfed down the rest of my salad, then started on a creamy green soup that looked good. It was a vegetable soup of some sort, incredibly rich due to the copious amounts of cream. I tried some of the breads, which had incredible variety, from white, spongy breads to hard black loaves full of nuts. I then picked up one of the small roasted birds. It was covered in all kinds of herbs and spices, and stuffed with roasted potatoes. I only got through half of it. Maxis was staring at the foods in awe himself, though he was being much messier in his handling of them. His shirt was sporting three stains and a light covering of crumbs, and Orien was looking at him in disgust. He was being very neat, his napkin in his lap and his back firmly straight. I tried to mimic his position, wanting to appear civilized, but gave up on it the moment dessert was brought in.

Chocolate cakes, fruit tarts, and pastries of all sizes were brought in on trays. There were trays of truffles, all manner of things dipped in chocolate, and pudding. I grabbed a white chocolate truffle first. It was amazing, rich and chocolaty. I began taking small bits of everything, then bigger bits of everything as I realized how delicious it was. I only stopped eating when Orien stood up and told us we should go and watch the reapings. All the food had made me sleepy, so it was with tired steps that I followed everyone to the television room.

I sat down in the comfortable couch, which in hindsight wasn't the best idea. I saw the first District One tribute, a pretty fifteen year old blonde girl named Muna Articello, get reaped, and her district partner, Veris Drift. My eyes closed for a moment, and when they opened, Fia Two-Crows from District Four had been reaped. I kept accidentally closing my eyes, and when the reapings were finally over only seven names managed to stick in my head – Muna, Veris, Fia, Serephine and Gadall, the tributes from five, and Astrid Crane and Axle York, the tributes from six. I managed to wonder why Astrid, with her dark skin, had stark white hair before my eyes closed again. Analex shook me awake for my reaping, which was interesting to watch – "I didn't look _that _afraid, did I?" – but I slipped back into dreamland for everyone else's reaping.

This time, it was Maxis who shook me awake. I managed to stumble into my room, change into a dressing gown, and crawl under the covers before I slipped into a peaceful sleep.


	7. Stylists

The rest of the train ride was uneventful. On the last day, when the train got into the Capitol station, I looked around in awe at how huge, clean, and downright _interesting _everything was. I saw bright colors everywhere, and the people were like nothing I had ever seen. People had dyed their skin, gotten claws, feathers, and even wings grafted onto them, and done some overall crazy things to themselves. I saw one woman with green skin whose hair had been somehow turned into grass, and a man who had a tail and scaly skin. I spent an hour on the train with my face pressed against the window, staring. When the train finally pulled into the station, my first thought was, "I wonder how crazy my prep team will be?" I wasn't disappointed. I was brought to the room where I would be "made pretty" for the chariot rides around the capitol. My prep team entered, and I shamelessly stared for a moment.

The first member of my prep team had wings. Large, shimmering purple wings. Purple seemed to be her signature color, as her eyes, lips, and nails were all different shades of purple. Her hair was dyed yellow, red, green, purple, and blue, and was tightly curled and styled around her head until it looked like you could bounce her on her head, it was so springy. She seemed to be dressed normally, however, wearing a simple black skirt and a purple and pink striped top. She noticed me staring at her wings, and smiled widely. "Oh, goodness, dear, they don't work!" She giggled. "No, they're just for show. I'm Shli. Nice to meet you, Cazzie!" She stuck out her hand. I shook it tentatively. She was still smiling. "Oh, but you must meet everyone else! Where's Leezan?"

As she said it, another woman came into the room. Her hot-pink hair was up in simple pigtails, and I noticed that she had dyed her arms and legs so that her dark brown skin faded to stark white at her feet and hands. She was dressed simply as well, wearing a short, glittering white dress with a gold belt resting around her hips. She was smiling mindlessly as well, and she shook my hand saying, "I'm Leezan, but you already know that. The third girl-" Here Leezan looked almost disapproving "-Should be in here any second now. Anyway, you look pretty! We just have to do a little work… Poor dear, she's a ginger…" I frowned. What did my hair color have to do with anything?

The door opened for the third time. The third and final member of my prep team definitely had the most interesting outfit – she was wearing a shiny white suit that went from her thighs to just above her chest. Over that, she was wearing a corset and a fishnet jacket that ended in fingerless gloves over her hands. Her thigh-high socks were vertically striped with neon pinks and greens, and on her right thigh she was wearing some sort of metal leg-bracelet. Her skin was light blue with green veins running through it, and her hair, black around her face, faded to brown, and then to white at the very end of her ponytail. She didn't look half as happy as the rest of the prep team, and said, "Hey. I'm Aneie," in a very neutral voice. Shli and Leezan looked at her as if they would do anything to chuck her off the roof of a very high building.


	8. The Parade

"Well, we've got to make you pretty so you look nice in your outfit!" Shli seemed desperate for something to do, so she made me stand and take off my clothes. I stood, quietly, as all three of them walked around me, appraising me. Aneie was the first to act. "Well, we've got to do something about her hair. All of it." She grabbed my hand and dragged me over to a chair set next to a sink, where she sat me down, stuck my head under the faucet, and began washing and combing my hair. Shli and Leezan came up to me and began slathering my legs with something that I guessed was wax. "Deep breath out, honey," Leezan said, and before I could do as she told me, Shli and Leezan had both pulled out all of my leg hair. I bit the inside of my lip to stop myself from crying out. Aneie had finished washing my hair, and was now towel-drying it. Shli had produced a large bottle of moisturizer and began working on my skin. Leezan had got a makeup kit that was bigger than her torso and set it on the floor, seeming to look for different things. She was holding a piece of paper that she was using as a guide. I managed to look at it, it showed a standard face that had a makeup design on it. Leezan managed to find was looking for, and grabbed a box of something and a powder puff. She began powdering the skin that Shli had finished working with, making my entire body shimmer in gold powder. She finished with my body and instructed, "Close your face." I shut my eyes and mouth, not knowing what else to do, and felt the powder puff coat my face in the golden dust. "Open your mouth." She covered my lips in different substances while someone else began working on my eye makeup. I guessed it was Shli, because Aneie was still working on my hair.

"Done!" Came an exited squeal after a few minutes. I opened my eyes to see my face – Shli was holding up a mirror. I smiled. I didn't look bad at all. I shimmered slightly, which I thought was a nice effect. My shining hair fell lightly around my shoulders, with two strands brought around in the back to create a small braid. My lips were highly glossed, but not colored. My eye shadow was a light beige that actually complimented my green eyes nicely. My eyelashes had been worked painstakingly to look like my eyes had sprouted wheat. It made sense, considering wheat was the biggest export of District 9. "You just sit tight, Cazzie, and we'll get Nahfie for you." Leezan smiled, and my prep team all stood and left.

Soon, my stylist came in. She hadn't had any crazy surgery done, as far as I could tell. Her short hair was dyed pink with purple streaks, and she was wearing red-and-black striped tights under a blue skirt. Her purple strapless top showed most of her stomach, but over that she was wearing some sort of green jacket that was full of irregular holes that revealed most of her outfit. She walked around me the same way the stylists had, judging me. Finally, she spoke. "Put these on." She held out some underwear and a bra. I pulled them on quickly, then stayed and waited for her to speak again. "My partner, Lygan, and I decided that, since Nine is mostly about wheat, we'd try to make you look like wheat, only, in a more artistic way, so that you would look appealing and attract more sponsors."

"Alright." That sounded good, I guess. I wanted sponsors, of course. I wondered what my outfit would look like, if it wasn't just a stalk of wheat. I would soon find out. Nahfie helped me dress, adjusting everything until it fit well and nothing was wrinkled. She led to the mirror, and I gasped.

I looked like some sort of goddess of agriculture – maybe not pretty, but dignified and appealing. I was wearing a dress that ended at my feet. The hem had wheat kernels hanging off of it, and the material of the dress looked like it had been woven from wheat itself, despite being silky and comfortable on the inside. Around the back of my head, a tall collar made it look like my head was in a bushel of wheat. My makeup looked perfect with the outfit, and my hair actually complimented the ensemble. I could only hope that the Capitol citizens liked it, though. I didn't exactly know what I thought of the outfit. It was just below overkill, really, and I hadn't managed to make it look bad at all with my average-ness. I smiled. Even if no one liked it, I still had the interview, didn't I? I let Nahfie lead me down to my chariot, where I saw some of the other tributes. The District 12 tributes were looking particularly uncomfortable wearing nothing but miner's caps and copious amounts of coal dust. I politely averted my eyes.

I saw Muna looking particularly radiant in a costume that glittered and glowed. Her light blonde hair flowed gently around her shoulders, kept in place by a golden circlet around her forehead, inlaid with diamonds. Her dress was golden, spreading out at the waist into a clump of taffeta that managed to look dignified. She was wearing huge golden earrings and a necklace, all sparkling with diamonds. She simply shone, and looked quite smug about it. Her face seemed to say, "Yes, I'm beautiful. Have a problem?"

I looked at Fia, and instantly loved her outfit for District 4. Her prep team had dyed her dreadlocks sky blue, and her stylist had managed to get a sort of shiny, fluid material that made it look like Fia was a living waterfall. She was walking around, spinning occasionally, obviously loving her outfit. I made my way to my chariot, and was soon joined by Maxis, who was wearing a similar outfit, only with pants instead of a dress. We rode out into the Capitol amongst cheers and applause, and hoped that someone out there thought we deserved their attention.


	9. Training

I turned up at the training center on the first day hoping to become an expert on at least one thing. I saw the tree climbing station, but decided not to work there – I knew I was good at it already, and thought it might be a good idea to hide my talents. I instead tried to learn about tying knots. The woman teaching showed me a few simple knots like the bowline and the square knot, and by the end of an hour I could do and undo the granny knot, sheet bend, double sheet bend, running knot, and sheepshank within a few seconds. I thanked the woman, then changed to a slingshot station. I wasn't too bad. I always hit the target, though hardly ever the center. After deciding slingshots weren't quite my cup of tea, I decided to try plant identification. I got the basic gist of things, but after a while nightlock and blueberries started to flip themselves around in my head and I decided not to rely on those skills too much.

Maxis was talking to Muna, but she didn't seem interested in whatever he was saying. I guessed that he was trying – and failing – to start an alliance with the Careers. Would an alliance be a good thing? Maybe I should look around for people who looked friendly and try to form one. I walked over to the trap setting station, where Fia was, but as I approached her she gave me a simpering look and walked away. I decided to stay with traps for now, and turned out to be pretty good with them. I had set my third successful trap when I spotted Astrid and Axle. Well, if I was going to try for an alliance, I couldn't let one failure stop me.

I left the trap station and walked over to Astrid. She was talking to Axle quietly. When she saw me approach, she stopped talking and looked at me curiously. I guessed she was sixteen. "Hello, Astrid," I said, trying to sound casual. "How's training?" Astrid had her hand on Axle's shoulder, almost protectively. "Fine. Why?" Astrid gave off a certain regal air that I hadn't felt from anyone else. Axle, who looked only a year or two older than I was, looked at me with interest. "I was just wondering of you thought it would be beneficial to-" "We're not looking for an alliance, currently. Thanks for the offer. We might talk to you later." Astrid turned to go to another training station. Axle looked back at me, looking like he had wanted to say something before Astrid dragged him away.

"Harsh." I spun around a bit too quickly to look behind me and see who had spoken. It was Serephine, the girl from Five. She had obviously heard some part of our conversation. "Hey, Serephine. How's training for you?" I might be able to at least find someone who could do what I couldn't, and then join them. "Great! I've been doing well at the plant station and building fires, and I've got pretty good aim. How about you?" This was almost perfect. If I joined Serephine, our skills would be widespread, and we could help each other. "Well, I can tie knots and set traps well. I can't identify plants very well, though. But if we worked together-" "Of course I'll be in an alliance with you, Cazzie! But – well… can Gadall join us too? He's sort of my boyfriend…" Serephine was smiling as she accepted. And who cared if another person was with us? More skills to go around, right? "Sure thing. How about we all go to different training stations, so we can all get more skills under our belts to help us? Sound good?" "Sure! I'll tell Gadall." Serephine walked off. I silently congratulated myself, then went on to work on my sword-fighting skills. I noticed Muna throwing harpoons with deadly strength and accuracy, and made a mental note to avoid her where possible.


	10. Scores

After training was over, I had mastered trap-making, knot-tying, camouflage, some sword fighting maneuvers, and hiding. I was really good at hiding. When the time came to showcase my skills, I had thought for a while and eventually made my decision on what I would do. I could only hope the judges were attentive enough to see what I was doing, and that what I was doing was good enough to pull a decent score.

I waited, patiently, as the room emptied. I was suddenly unsure of myself, having seen how good everyone else was in training. What if my plan wasn't as interesting as it had seemed at first? I kept to it in my head, having no alternative, but I wondered if a show of brute strength would be better than what I wanted to do. Before I could think any further, however, it was my turn.

I walked into the room, looked around quickly, judging my surroundings, then quickly climbed up the closest tree. The Gamemakers obviously didn't see this coming, as they were suddenly looking around, trying to see where I was. I slipped out of the tree silently and began running as fast as I could between bushes and rocks, hiding constantly, until I reached a decent length of rope and a net. I returned to the tree, still keeping as hidden as possible, and began tying the rope to a branch carefully, setting up a trap in the trees. The Gamemakers looked confused, beginning to notice that things were happening in the tree despite being unable to see me.

I once again dropped silently from the tree, and crawled on my stomach over to a table where a stack of berries was sitting. I grabbed a handful of them, a knife, a length of fishing line, and a rock, then returned to my tree, where I put my finishing touches on the trap. Holding the end of the line and my knife and staying hidden, I crawled over to where the dummies were. I didn't need to hide for this part. I placed the end of the fishing line under a reddish rock, stood, in plain sight, and noticed the Gamemakers suddenly shift their attention from the tree to where I was standing. Obviously, my hiding skills were good. I grabbed a dummy and dragged it over to where my trap was. I stood it directly over the berries, then ran back to where I had placed the end of the line. I pulled the line sharply, then watched in satisfaction as the rope it was connected to ran over the tree branch, tightened, and hoisted the dummy, upside-down, into the air. For good measure, a net then dropped from the tree, trapping the dummy completely.

The final thing I wanted to do would undoubtedly impress the Gamemakers, if I did it right. If I failed, they would know that I had a weakness. I stood up, revealing my hiding place once again, and took aim, holding my knife by the blade. Finally, I threw it with all my strength. It hit the dummy somewhere in its torso. I ran to the trap, freed the dummy, and held it up for the Gamemakers to see, unable to believe my luck. The knife had made contact with the dummy right in the heart. I smiled, dropped the dummy, and ran out of the room. I had done it. Let's hope the Gamemakers saw fit to give me a score that would entice possible sponsors.

I sat in the television room, waiting for my score to appear. I tried to ignore the fear I felt when I saw Fia and Muna's 11 and Veris' 10. I felt a surge of hope when I saw Serephine and Gadall both pull an 8, Astrid manage a 9, and Axle scrape by with a 7. When Maxis got a measly 5, I decided it was a good thing we hadn't teamed up. My score flashed on the screen, and I couldn't believe it. A 10. That was amazing! I had expected a 9, at most. I must have been somehow unique – or maybe it was the fact that I was the youngest tribute. Analex gave me a huge hug, while Nergan nodded his approval. Orien was still looking at Maxis in disgust.


	11. Interview Dress

"The interview!" Shli was in raptures. "I _love _the interview!" Leezan seemed to share her view. They had been gushing about it for days. "You'll be _sooo _pretty! We know exactly what we're going to do, and you'll look wonderful!" Aneie was nodding as she brushed my hair. Shli once again began to work on my skin, still talking with Leezan. "I wonder what that Five girl will wear." "Bergron isn't great. I think Lanta will do something wonderful again, she's the best stylist in my opinion." "Remember the costume for District One?" "Muna was really pretty! I would be afraid of her, for sure." I began to drift out of the conversation into my own mind, strategizing for the games. It was a while before I heard Aneie say, "You're done." I looked in the mirror.

For a moment, I thought I wasn't wearing any makeup. Then I realized that my prep team had been trying for that effect, while still trying to make me look beautiful. My skin no longer glittered, but it was perfectly smooth and pale, with no blemishes or scars at all visible. My lips were smooth and shiny without being obviously covered in gloss or lipstick, and my eye makeup made my eyes look big and bright without making me look like a raccoon. I realized that Komet had been right – I looked younger by nearly three years, and unspeakably innocent. I wondered if my dress would reflect that.

It did. Nahfie had come in and told me that I was "young and looked innocent," so I should try to play that as well as I could. The Capitol citizens would hate to see the youngest tribute killed, so I should remind them that's what I was. The dress she put me in was deep purple – Shli adored it – with yellow accents. The long purple sleeves were crisscrossed with yellow ribbons, and a simple yellow belt circled my waist. A fake orchid at full blossom was placed at the center of the neckline. It looked stunningly real. The skirt was a purple petticoat that fluffed out around my knees. I was wearing a pair of simple shiny black boots, and Aneie had made my hair shimmer gently as it fell, completely unadorned, around my shoulders. Nahfie placed a yellow headband with a tulle flower around my forehead. I looked in the mirror, and saw a sweet young girl looking back. I tried to do one of those cute smile/giggles you saw little girls do on TV, and it actually worked well. Leezan seemed like she would faint with joy. I hugged Nahfie. "I love it." I moved on to hug Shli, trying not to crumple her wings, then Leezan, and finally Aneie, who hugged back awkwardly. "I'm going to miss you guys," I whispered truthfully.

"You could still win!" Leezan said. "With that 10 of yours, who knows what you can accomplish? Now go out there, attract some sponsors with your adorableness, and win these games!" As I was pushed out of the door, I saw nothing but the smiling faces of Shli, Leezan, and Nahfie, as well as a flattering view of Aneie's ponytail as she turned away from me. I wondered why she was so… un-Capitol. It was a mystery I may never solve.


	12. Axle

I sat, watching the interviews that came before mine as I waited. I watched Muna, looking smug, flaunt herself in her hot pink, form-fitting, off the shoulder dress. Her makeup was just below too much, and she was obviously trying to look sexy. She wasn't failing, either – I could see most of the male tributes staring up at the television screens hungrily. Among those who were looking politely away were Axle, Gadall, and a boy whose name I didn't know from eleven. Thank goodness some people were immune to her; maybe Muna wouldn't get all the sponsors for herself.

I watched as Stava and Riegan, from Two, Galiss, from Three, and Fia, all paraded in their various outfits. Dresses and suits that flattered were made all the more intriguing by the comments of Litie Dashwillow, the interviewer. She literally sparkled from head to toe, having had her skin infused with diamonds and her hair woven through with glittering, colorful strands of material. She was friendly and instantly picked up on whatever vibe the tributes were trying to give off, and tailored her questions to fit. I realized that I wasn't dreading the interview nearly as much as I had dreaded the scoring. I smiled as I saw Serephine twirl happily in her simple black gown. She talked brightly about Gadall, training, and her life back in Five, and I knew her cheery attitude would get her a few sponsors – no one wants the happy one to die.

Astrid was far more serious. Her dress, dark pink and red, looked like something out of a storybook. Her white hair had been tightly curled, pulled back, and adorned with a black clip that trailed a veil of light pink tulle. She looked positively regal, which seemed to be what she was going for – she sat up straight and crossed her legs daintily in her chair, while Litie asked her questions politely. "So, Astrid, I think most people here are wondering… Your hair, dear." Astrid smiled politely, as if she got this question often. "Well, Litie, the truth is that in District Six a few years ago, there was a bit of an outbreak. There was this new breed of insect that lived in people's hair, and it traveled quickly. Of course, we can't have bugs living in our hair, so we tried loads of things to get them out. After quite a few tries, the only thing that seemed to work for us was bleach. My mother got a tub of the stuff and stuck my head in it, and it stripped my hair of all its color. It remains white, no matter how long I wait for it to grow out." "Fascinating." Astrid, despite being beautiful in her outfit, and more polite that the Capitol could have dreamed, didn't seem like she would attract any sponsors – she was too stiff. Not human enough. The Capitol wanted drama, and Astrid wasn't giving them any.

Axle seemed to work things out differently, though. He was more fluid, more interesting. After a few questions about the Games and training, the conversation turned to relationships. "So, Axle, have you ever had a girlfriend?'

"Nope."

"Ever had a crush?"

"Definitely."

"Ooh, anyone we know?"

"Maybe."

"Is it a secret?'

"I guess."

"Is she a tribute?"

"Are we playing 20 Questions now?"

"Sure! So is she a tribute?"

"Yeah."

"Is she pretty?"

"Lots of the girl tributes are pretty."

"How about I say some of the names of the tributes, and you tell me if you think they're pretty. Like, really pretty. Like, crushable pretty. Okay?'

"Sure."

"Muna."

"She's… different. Yeah, she's pretty, but not… crushable."

"Astrid?"

"Too regal."

"Serephine?"

"She has Gadall."

"Stava."

"No. I'm going to be murdered, but no."

"Cazzie?"

He frowned. Then, "Yes, Cazzie for sure."

Litie had obviously struck gold. "She is pretty. As a matter of fact, her interview is next! Want me to drop in a word for you?" Axle looked as if he was going to say yes, then thought against it. "No, thanks. I appreciate the offer." Litie was smiling brightly. The interview continued, but I was a bit lost after that – Axle thought I was pretty. No guy had ever acted at all like he thought I was pretty. Sure, my friends and parents said it, but that was their legal obligation or something. Axle was kind of cute, I suppose – but no, I couldn't afford to lose myself in daydreams. If I wanted to survive, he would have to die – there was no way around it.


	13. Interview

My interview was probably the most fun I had had since the reaping. Litie smiled as if she knew a secret when I walked in. "Hello, Cazzie! Welcome to the interview! Are you as excited as I am?" I decided to play along. I could almost hear Analex urging me to seem excited and almost unaware that death was near. Anyone in the Capitol with a sense of maternal instinct would want to protect me. Hopefully. I smiled innocently. "Yeah! This is sure to be fun!" I collapsed into my chair.

"So, Cazzie. Impressive score. Do you think you could win?"

Not really. "Of course! Why not?"

"You're the youngest out of all the tributes. Is that scary?"

Yes. "Not really. They don't seem too bad."

"Any particular strategies for the games that you can share?"

I frowned, as if contemplating. "Win."

Litie laughed. "I like it. What about your outfits? Do you like your stylist?"

"Yeah! I love Nahfie, and Shli, and Leezan, and even Aneie. They're great!"

"What was life like back in District Nine?"

"Oh, it was fun. I mostly harvested and planted seeds all day. We didn't have a lot of money, but we had enough. My little brother Drevan – he's six – man, was he something. I really miss him. Hi, Drevan!" I waved brightly at the only visible camera.

Litie smiled. "Do you like the Capitol?"

"Wow, it's amazing. The showers, the food…"

"You like the food?"

"It's delicious! You know what I really love?"

"What's that?"

"The truffles. The chocolate! It's so amazing. I _refuse _to leave the Capitol without a box of it. Or two."

Litie was smiling. She continued to question me on what I thought of the Capitol and the other tributes. I tried to sound as innocent and cute as possible. It seemed to have worked, because once the interview was over Analex was smiling at me and nodding excitedly. I smiled back, but despite the all of cheerfulness and positive thinking I had displayed, I could hardly fall asleep that night with my mind full of dark thoughts and images of death.


	14. It Begins

I woke up instants before Analex burst through my door and dragged me to my prep room. I tried to make myself somewhat presentable as I was rushed along the hallways, but it didn't seem to be working wonderfully. Shli and Leezan didn't speak as they braided my hair. Nahfie gave me my outfit – a long-sleeved blue-green shirt, a long, thick pair of jeans and a belt, and black snow boots. I had the sudden impression that wherever I was going, it was cold. I held up my token, hoping that my parents hadn't sent anything to the sponsorship fund, hoping that Drevan would be okay, and hoping – foolishly, desperately hoping – that I would get the chance to return the glass circle to Mimet. Suddenly, I was being herded along to an elevator that I had never used before. Nahfie came with me. I saw Maxis, dressed much in the same way I was, as he was taken to another. The elevator dropped quickly but steadily, and the doors opened to reveal a hovercraft docking station. We were hustled into the crafts. They took off quickly, and a group of Gamemakers surrounded me. One pulled out a syringe, and I knew what was coming. I held still as I was tranquilized and injected with a tracker. The world slowly went black.


	15. Countdown

I awoke in the underground chambers where the tributes were held until the Games began. Nahfie smiled when she saw my eyes open. "One minute, Cazzie. You ready?"

"Not in the least. But I guess everyone feels the same way, right?"

She smiled and didn't answer. She helped me up and walked me over to the glass elevator where I would soon ascend to my fate. She hugged me one last time, and whispered in my ear, "You can do it." She stepped away. I once again fished my token out of my pocket and held it tightly in my hand. Suddenly, a thought invaded my mind. I guessed it was my subconscious instinct. _Stay away from the Cornucopia. _I didn't fully understand why it popped into my head, but it did. I decided not to question it. Who wanted to participate in a bloodbath anyway?

I suddenly heard Litie's voice come from a hidden speaker system. "Please enter the elevators." Nahfie was nodding encouragingly. I stepped onto the metal plate. Litie began counting down. "30…29…28…27…" When she hit 20, the plate began to rise. I instinctively placed my hands against the sides of the tube, opening my palm. My token dropped to the ground. I knelt to pick it up, and when I rose, Litie had reached 10 and the plate had stopped rising. I was suddenly in a vast clearing in a forest that glittered with snow. Behind the Cornucopia, a mountain rose steeply, but not too high. A day's hike would probably bring you to the peak. A sudden chill hit me that had nothing to do with the Games – it was freezing, and all I had was my one shirt. I saw parkas and fur hats heaped up in the Cornucopia as well as weapons and backpacks that surely held food, water, and other tools. Serephine was eyeing the Cornucopia, but caught my eye suddenly and shook her head. There were only four seconds left when suddenly –

"No!" The female tribute from Seven suddenly shrieked. I watched in horror as she dropped the ball she was holding, her token. It hit the ground, and for a moment everything seemed fine. Then a ball of fire erupted where she was standing. It cleared, and there was nothing left but a stain. Her cannon sounded just as Litie finished counting. "2… 1!"


	16. The First Day

The gong sounded, and there was an eruption of movement around me. I ran to Serephine, grabbed her arm, and began streaking towards the forest with her. I bent and grabbed the first thing my hand touched, an orange backpack. I would see what it held later. Something whizzed past my ear as I ran, and stuck in a tree. A knife. I turned towards it and pulled it out of the wood, looking back for a second to see Fia looking furious. We ran into the forest at our top speeds, only stopping when the trees around us softened the sounds of the battle.

Serephine looked frantic. "Gadall ran right into the bloodbath! I tried to tell him not to! Will he be able to find us?" Oh, no. I had forgotten entirely about her boyfriend. I looked around, and noticed something strange instantly.

"Serephine... do you see the snow? How smooth it is?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"There should be footprints. But there aren't any. This isn't normal snow. I think it's been engineered to melt enough to fill any impressions after a certain amount of time."

"Which affects us how?"

"The Gamemakers obviously did something to it, so it's probably not safe to drink. At least no one will be able to track us."

"That means Gadall has almost no chance of finding us!" Serephine seemed to have decided all this was hopeless.

"We'll start looking for Gadall as soon as things seem to have died down. It's barely been ten minutes-"

"And already six people are dead! I've been counting the cannons!"

"Let's just see what I managed to get in this pack, shall we?" Anything to distract from Serephine's lost beau. I placed the backpack on the snow and opened it. It was light, and now I saw why. A pair of sunglasses sat on top of a thin pink shirt. I handed Serephine the sunglasses and, noticing that her black shirt's sleeves only made it to her elbows, gave her the shirt as well. It wasn't much, but she seemed grateful. I decided to climb a tree to see if I could find anyone or a place to stay. The bloodbath around the Cornucopia had ended, and I saw the last stragglers, a blond-haired head and a blue-haired head, running from the scene. I watched in awe as the blood staining the snow slowly vanished, leaving it pristine and unmarked. Hovercrafts had already picked up the bodies. I dropped from the tree and reported back to Serephine. "There don't seem to be any caves nearby or clearings that are free of snow. We'll either have to sleep on the ground, where the snow will soak into our clothes and probably make us sick, or sleep in the trees, where we might fall out. We could try to get to the mountain, but it doesn't look promising. I say we sleep in the trees tonight, then set out to look for Gadall tomorrow."

"Is there any way we can make the trees safer? There was no rope in your bag, was there?"

"No. We'd need either a rope, for the trees, or something to protect us from the snow on the ground, like a plastic sheet or sleeping bags."

Almost instantaneously, something fell gently out of the sky. I watched as the silver parachute dropped gently onto the snow, bearing something rolled up in stiff plastic. Serephine began unrolling to see what it was holding. After unrolling it and folding it out, we saw that the gift was not enclosed in the plastic – it _was _the plastic. We could use it to keep ourselves dry and fold it over ourselves as a sort of makeshift blanket – it was definitely big enough. I guessed we weren't popular enough to merit a rope.

Serephine and I began walking through the forest, looking for a place where we could sleep without fearing an attack from the Careers. We finally found a huge bush between two trees. At the base of the bush, a hole had been created somehow that allowed me to stoop down and go into the heart of the bush. It led to a perfect place to spread our sheet and sleep. It looked like a den made of leaves, with bushes surrounding us on all sides. There was a thin covering of branches shielding us from view from above. We pulled branches from the ground and surrounding bushes and wove them into the screen already there to thicken it. Only one more cannon shot disturbed our work. When we seemed covered, the sky began to darken, and the Capitol anthem began to play, we stopped working and looked through the one hole we had left at the sky, trying to see who had been killed. Galiss and her partner, from Three, the girl from Seven, the boy from Eight, my partner, Maxis – Serephine gasped, but I was uncaring – and both tributes from Eleven were all out of the running. That left seventeen tributes, including me. I could guess that this was going to be interesting. Serephine and I lay down on the sheet, pulled the remaining plastic over ourselves as a sort of blanket, and fell asleep to the sounds of our stomachs rumbling.


	17. A Plan

When I woke up, Serephine was sitting on the sheet with a pile of wood sitting next to her. "Did you collect all of that?" was the first sentence that tumbled out of my mouth, before I realized that obviously, she had – there wasn't really any way they could have just magically appeared. She nodded, then held out a squirrel carcass. "I saw the squirrel on the ground – it had a broken leg – and grabbed it, broke its neck, and gathered some wood so we can start a fire and cook it. Food for us!"

"That's great! Oh, but…"

"What?"

"If we start a fire, the smoke could attract the Careers. They're probably out hunting for tributes. If we cook the squirrel here, we couldn't stay – the Careers would know we were here. Should we find another place to do the actual cooking?"

"Actually, I was thinking about that. If we can attract the Careers with a big enough fire, make them come into our little den, and then cover the top of the bush and the exits, the smoke inhalation will kill them. Do you think that could work?"

"That's genius! We'll have to find something to block the exit there, though. While we're looking, we might even find Gadall!" Serephine nodded, smiling. I reached for the squirrel and wrapped it up in the silver parachute that had been attached to the plastic sheet. We rolled up the sheet as well, just in case, and placed everything into the orange backpack that already held the binoculars and knife I had acquired at the Cornucopia. Serephine took some time trying to remember the exact location of our bush hideout, and then we were off. It would be hard to keep a Career in a simple bush, so we needed to quickly fill the den with smoke and block the exit/entrance hole with something that wouldn't let much smoke escape, like a rock. It would have to be quick, though, because eventually whomever we trapped would beat their way through the bushes and out of the trap. It was a difficult plan.

Serephine suddenly pointed out a smaller bush covered in purple berries. _Food, _she mouthed at me, then ran towards it. Halfway there, though, she stopped. "What?" I whispered. We didn't want to speak too loudly, in case someone was hiding in the trees. "Those aren't edible berries. They're nightlock. Highly poisonous, and definitely deadly. Let's keep moving." She turned to walk away, but before I followed her I ran to the bush and plucked a handful of the berries. You never know.


	18. The Waterfall

Still no rocks in sight, and my mouth was dry and parched. We had expanded our search to water, food of any kind, rocks, and Gadall. No luck at all, except for the dead squirrel that we were waiting to cook so we could set our trap. Serephine, who knew more about edible plants than I did, despite living in the grain district, had pointed out that the trees surrounding us didn't contain anything edible, but we would be set if we could find a pine tree. I kept my eyes out for one of those as well. No sponsors seemed to have any interest in our survival either, as we had asked for food twice and received nothing. Two cannons sounded as we walked. Things seemed almost hopeless, until we heard the wonderful sound of moving water. Suddenly rejuvenated, we ran towards the sound, until we reached a seven-foot-high waterfall. The cold, clear water ran over rocks and into the forest, until we could no longer make it out among the trees. Serephine suddenly pointed at a tree at the top of the waterfall. "It's a pine tree! There might be pine nuts, and we can at least eat the bark and needles! We can use these rocks, too! This is perfect!" I pulled the knife out of my backpack and listened as Serephine told me about scraping off the bark and separating the edible inner layer from the tough outer layer. She began looking for a rock in the water that would successfully block the exit to our den. I looked at the waterfall, judging where I should place my feet on my way to the tree, then began my climb. It wasn't hard, having experience climbing trees, and I reached the top quickly, only having been mildly misted by the falling water. I walked up to the pine tree, pulled off a couple of needles, then looked beyond the tree – and froze. I had just walked into a deathtrap.


	19. Career Camp

Barely ten feet in front of me, a tent was set up. Beyond that tent, I saw three others. Supplies from the Cornucopia were gathered around the tents and inside them. The Careers were standing in a group and arguing about something.

"And where's _your_ partner, Fia?" Muna was saying triumphantly.

"You know Koter deserted us. He doesn't want to be involved in the killing."

"Then hunt him down and kill him! He's no use to us if he's not an ally." Riegan said grumpily.

"And what will you be doing?"

"Hunting, just like you. But we'll leave the privilege of killing our little deserter to you, all right?" Stava handed Fia a sabre in a black leather holster. I decided now would be a good time to run.

I grabbed another handful of pine needles, stuffed everything into my backpack, ran like hell back to the waterfall, and jumped over the edge, straight into the river and in front of Serephine. She looked at me like I had gone insane. Dripping and deciding not to waste time on an explanation until we were safer, I grabbed her arm and dragged her back into the forest. When we were behind a tree and could only hear the rushing water, I told Serephine what I had found. Her eyes grew wide. "They were right there, and they didn't notice us? That's crazy good luck!"

"Yeah, and I wouldn't want to test it."

"Yes, but… I found a perfect rock in the river that we can use. We still need water, too."

"I'd rather wait until the Careers are safe inside their tents."

"Didn't they say they would be going hunting? If they're gone, it might actually be safer nearer to their camp."

"They're likely to leave a lookout. They've got lots of supplies to protect."

"Yes, but one lookout is less deadly than five Careers. I think we can risk it, if we're fast and quiet." Serephine had a point. I didn't have time to counter her response anyway, because at that moment we heard the sound of feet crunching through the snow. This was the first time we had really had to worry about an attack (Other than a minute ago, of course) and we were both in instant stealth mode. Serephine darted behind a different tree while I hoisted myself into the one we were closest to, pressing myself against a thick, low-hanging branch that had enough foliage to cover me from view. Two boys walked into view. One was much tougher looking than the other, but they both seemed around the same age. The tough one was blonde and taller, and I recognized him as the other tribute from Seven. The second boy was – oh. Serephine seemed to recognize him at the same instant I did, and reacted accordingly.


	20. Gadall

"_Gadall!_" Serephine ran from behind the tree where she was hiding and hugged her boyfriend. He looked shocked, but not as shocked as whomever he was with – the boy jumped back and hit my tree so hard I tumbled out. We ended up in a sprawling heap on the ground. We managed to get our composure just as Serephine and Gadall finished their reunion kiss. How sweet. "Serephine, I've been so worried! You and Cazzie seem fine, are you all right?"

"Yeah, we're great! We found a place to stay, and we've got a little food too. Are you okay?"

"I just managed to get out of the bloodbath alive. Trace pulled me out of the way of a knife, and we both ran. We got a bag of some supplies that we've been too busy to fully examine," Gadall held up an orange backpack, "but we've had no food or water since the Capitol. You said you had some?"

"A squirrel we haven't cooked yet and some pine needles, but the needles would really make better tea. We found a river not too far from here, but it's right by a Career camp. We're not really sure if we should risk it. The Careers just left to go hunting, so there's only a lookout there."

"Wait – what's that?" Trace, the Seven boy, was pointing at a package that was dropping from the sky. It fell much quicker than the plastic had, so it must have been heavier. It hit the snow, and I tore off the parachute and stared in awe. One of our sponsors had managed to get us a basket of food. Two loaves of bread, a pile of fruit, and a block of cheese sat in the basket. The bread was still warm. My immediate guess was that the whole reunion-kissing-happy-couple thing had attracted some money. I tossed a piece of fruit to everyone and grabbed one for myself, and for a moment we all savored the food that tasted ten times more delicious because we had been so hungry before. Once we were all done with our fruit, Trace reached out for another piece. Gadall stopped him.

"We should save the rest, just in case. We might be much hungrier later." We all agreed. Gadall's backpack was full, so I was designated to wrap the basket in the parachute and stuff it into my pack. As I did so, I noticed something in the bottom of the basket. I pulled it out. A canteen. The last thing we needed had been provided for us – but there was one problem. It was empty. Serephine grabbed it from me, opened it, and turned it completely upside down. Nothing. We still needed to get the water before we could drink it.

"Well, you said you found a river, right? We'll just fill it up there." Trace took the canteen from Serephine.

"It's right by the Career camp. We probably shouldn't risk it."

"We just have to wait for their lookout to be facing away, and then we'll fill the bottle and be gone. Easy." True, the camp was at the top of the waterfall. If we were fast and careful, we might not be noticed. Trace seemed fixed on the idea.

"I guess we could try…" I spoke up. Serephine and Gadall came to a silent agreement and nodded. We all traipsed through the snow to the river. Trace stood at the tree line, looking around. He seemed to think he was safe, and he stepped out into the open. He bent to fill the canteen – and an arrow whizzed out of nowhere and struck him in the chest. He staggered backwards, dropped the canteen, and collapsed on the ground. His cannon sounded. I was frozen in shock, and watched as Stava dropped from her hiding place in the pine tree, jumped down to Trace's body, and retrieved her arrow. She stuck it in the quiver on her back along with her bow, which had its own strap. She was oblivious to us. She kicked over Trace's body, seemed to decide he was worthless, and turned to climb back up the waterfall.

I don't know why I did it. It was stupid, and reckless, but I darted out from behind my tree, grabbed the canteen, filled it with water, and replaced the cap while I ran back. I was sure Stava had heard me and would hit me with her arrows any second, so I began running , bringing Gadall and Serephine with me. This time, we didn't stop until Serephine wheezed, "We're almost there!" I didn't know what she was talking about until I started to recognize our surroundings. We had ran almost all the way back to our bush. We slowed to a walk until we reached the bush, crawled in after each other, and sat, taking turns drinking out of the canteen. The water was cold and fresh, and we had nearly finished half of it when we all decided to stop. The sky had started to darken. We heard the Capitol Anthem play, and looked out to see whom we had lost. Trace's was the first face that appeared, followed by both tributes from twelve. Fourteen people left. We spread out our sheet and went to sleep, huddled up together and dreading what the next day would bring.


	21. Smoke Trap

I woke up first this time. I remembered our plan to set the smoke trap, and decided that it would be helpful to get the supplies needed to start a fire. Serephine had already collected the wood, I just had to figure out how to actually get the fire going. It would need to be set up so that it wouldn't be extinguished by all the snow it melted. I dug into the snow for a while, trying to see if it became solid ground anytime soon, but it didn't. I refilled my hole and crawled out of the bushes to collect needles from the trees. When I had a sizable pile of greenery, I returned to our den, spread the needles on a patch of empty snow, and piled up the dead branches and leaves on top of it. Around that time, Gadall woke up. I explained the smoke trap plan to him, and he agreed to give it a try.

"So we still need something to block the entrance, right?"

"Yes. The basket we have holding our food would probably work well. We just need to secure it."

"We can tie the branches around the handles with this." Gadall pulled a piece of rope out of the orange backpack he had collected during the bloodbath. I wondered what else it held, but didn't ask.

"I think the best way to go about this will be to have two people in the trees on either side of the bush, waiting to drop the plastic over the top to stop the smoke from escaping. Then a third person will be on the ground, waiting to tie on the basket and stop the smoke from escaping that way. Some smoke may still leak out, though. Will that work?"

"Sure. I'm going to offer myself as the one who ties on the basket, unless you want to. I can't climb a tree to save my life."

"Sure thing." I handed Gadall the basket.

"Hey guys." Serephine had woken up. We both informed her of our plans, and she agreed to be the second person up the tree. We wanted to get started as soon as possible, so I offered to climb up the first tree and see if anyone was close by. I scampered up the branches quickly, not stopping until I was far enough up the tree to see what was going on around the arena. I saw two people in the distance running into a cave at the base of the mountain that I hadn't noticed before, but that was unimportant to me. I looked out for people who were closer, and soon saw two people that were about ten minutes away from us. One was undoubtedly Fia, as her obvious blue hair was up in a ponytail. The other girl was probably Muna, as she was the only blonde female Career. Her hair was up in two braids, and she had a quiver of spears on her back. If I was going to kill anyone in this arena, I wouldn't mind if it was one of those girls.

I scampered back down the tree and told Serephine and Gadall about my find. They all agreed that the two Career girls would be the quickest prey. We piled up the fuel we had and realized quickly that we didn't have any matches or flint to start a fire with. Gadall checked his backpack, but it didn't contain anything helpful. I tried to think of some way to start a fire, but nothing was coming to me – I knew rubbing two sticks together would work eventually, but it was difficult and took a very long time – time I didn't have, as Fia and Muna approached rapidly.


	22. Fire

Serephine seemed to suddenly remember something.

"Do you have anything like a magnifying glass?" She asked in excitement.

"What for?"

"We can use it to magnify the sun, and start a fire. I know it will work, because of- of-" She trailed off, and suddenly looked incredibly sad.

Gadall seemed to realize what she was talking about. "The Great Fire?" It must have been some event back in District Five.

"What happened?"

Gadall answered. "When we were both young, the sunlight was somehow magnified through one of the windows into the oil refinery. There was always some spilled oil there, and it was suddenly on fire…" He trailed off.

"The whole refinery burned down. My mother was working in it…" Serephine stopped talking and looked down. Gadall put his arms around her silently, and I sat awkwardly for a few seconds before realizing that I did, as a matter of fact, have something we could use as a fire-starter. I pulled my token from my pocket. The glass circle would be perfect to reflect and magnify the sunlight to start a fire. Serephine and Gadall saw what I had found and broke into smiles. I held up the circle and began trying to get at good angle so I could start the fire.

When I had focused a ray of sunlight into a single point that sat, unwavering, on a leaf in our kindling pile, I realized that the Gamemakers and maybe even the president were not happy with me. First, I had learned about something going on in another district – and worse, it had probably been broadcast to all of Panem as well. Then, I had he audacity to use my token as a survival tool – something absolutely unheard of in previous games. I just had to hope that my crimes weren't incredibly drastic, and that the Gamemakers wouldn't unleash a pack of muttations that would kill me, just to set an example.

Serephine suddenly gasped, and I looked back at the leaf I was focusing the light on. It was burning, ever so slightly. I kept the light trained on it until the glowing edge of the leaf widened a hole that stayed burning consistently. I began focusing on another leaf, and watched as the embers of the first leaf spread on to the next one, setting it alight much more quickly. As we watched, the fire spread and grew. Soon, one of the bigger logs was burning nicely.


	23. Fia

"Might as well make the most of this before we have to get out," Serephine said, pulling the squirrel carcass in my backpack out of its wrappings. The stench it released was awful.

"Maybe we should have cooked it fresh. I think it's a bit too far gone now," I said, grabbing it by the tail and flinging it out of the top of the bush. I looked back at the fire, which was now producing a significant amount of smoke. Surely Fia and Muna had noticed it by now, and the flying squirrel was probably a good signal as well.

I pulled a loaf of bread from our sponsors out of my backpack and ripped off a hunk for each of us. "Let's just eat this for now, and get into position. No doubt the girls are coming closer."

"All right. Good luck!" Serephine was smiling at Gadall. He picked up the basket and rope, saluted, and crawled back out of the bush. I held the plastic, put on my backpack, and followed him, with Serephine taking up the rear. Once we were all outside, Gadall tied the first handle of the basket to the right of the entrance. He kicked the rope under the bush and hid behind the tree on the right. Serephine began climbing up that tree, and I took the tree to the left of the bush. When we were both high enough in the tree to be above the bush, I tossed out the end of the plastic sheet. Serephine caught it, and we spread it out, ready to drop it over the openings in the bush once someone entered. I turned around slowly on the branch, trying to see where Fia and Muna were without losing my balance – my hands were occupied with the plastic.

I watched as Fia pointed at the smoke signal we had created. She seemed to be arguing with Muna. Suddenly, they both whipped their heads around. With lightning speed, Muna threw one of her spears into the trees. A cannon sounded two seconds later. Muna waved Fia towards us and ran to collect the spear. Fia began walking towards us. I turned to Serephine, caught her eye, and mouthed, "Incoming!" She nodded and began looking at the entrance to the trap, waiting. Not two minutes later, Fia was in clear view, smirking. She pulled back the edge of her jacket and revealed a sabre in a shoulder holster. Resting her hand on the hilt, she crawled into our trap. Serephine and I both dropped the plastic at the same time. Gadall stepped out of hiding and tied the other handle of the basket to the left side of the entrance. Fia had been trapped.

She quickly realized that the den was empty and that something was off. "What the…" She muttered as soon as the plastic was dropped. Judging by the rustling in the bush, she had started to crawl back out – and judging by the angry shriek, she had realized that she was trapped. I suddenly realized that my plan was incredibly far-fetched. Fia could simply put out the fire with some snow, or cut her way out with her sabre. I suddenly feared for Gadall, who would be the first to suffer Fia's wrath if she escaped.

My fears were quelled a minute later when Fia was still captive, and began coughing relentlessly. "Let me go!" She shrieked through her coughs. "You stupid, idiotic – please!" Fia sounded desperate. I looked away, scanning the rest of the arena. I thought I saw Muna running my way, but I didn't stop to think about it. Fia's coughing had become louder, and she had stopped trying to talk. I looked over at Serephine, who was looking down at the bush with a completely neutral face. She looked up at me and said, not bothering to be quiet anymore, "It's working."

"She's not going to make it," I agreed. We sat in silence for the remaining tense minutes, while Fia's coughing slowly became louder, then quieter, until it was silent and a cannon fired. I pulled the plastic from the top of the bush and waited for the smoke to clear. Fia lay on the snow, unmoving. Serephine saw Fia lying there, shrieked, "We did it!" and climbed from the tree. A hovercraft appeared from the sky and reached down a metal arm, taking Fia. It stayed, hovering, once Fia had retreated into its hull, as if expecting something. Gadall, having no need to hide once he had tied on the basket, was standing in front of the entrance, smiling back up at her. I couldn't help smiling too. We had eliminated a huge threat, and a Career to match! It was a sign that we might have a fighting chance in the Games, and that was something I was happy to see. I stayed in the tree, trying to see if anyone else was approaching – in hindsight, letting all of the smoke from the trap come up like another signal was not the best idea. It was a good thing I stayed, too.


	24. A Spear

Serephine had dropped from her tree and was running up to meet Gadall. She reached out for him, and they embraced, about to kiss – when there was a sudden silver flash and they both froze. Their eyes were closed, their heads angled as if they were about to kiss, but they were grimacing as if in pain and their faces were splattered with blood. I stared in horror at the spear that was impaling them both through their chests. They both collapsed at the same time, and two cannons fired. I nearly cried out, but realized that would be a big mistake – the killer, most likely Muna, had to be nearby.

My suspicions were soon confirmed. I watched as Muna walked up to Serephine and Gadall's bodies, gave them both unimpressed looks, and bent to try and remove the spear. After failing at pulling it out more that a few inches, she gave up. She had plenty more strapped to her back anyway – one of which she suddenly whipped out and held as she scanned the trees for anyone else. I pressed myself against the bark, hoping desperately that she wouldn't notice me – when a distraction in the form of a hovercraft arm came to pick up Serephine and Gadall's bodies. Muna ran from the scene, deciding she had done enough damage, and I did something else that was sure to anger the Capitol. I grabbed the edge of the spear that had impaled my alliance and wrapped my legs tightly around the branch I was sitting on. The hovercraft arm was strong, and it wrenched the bodies away, but I managed to get the spear. I climbed back down the tree and began preparing for a change of scenery. Muna knew where I was, even if she hadn't seen me yet, and I had sneaking suspicion the two people in the cave at the base of the mountain would be friendlier.


	25. Leaving

I packed the plastic back into my backpack and went behind the tree where Gadall had been hidden to get his pack full of supplies. I untied the basket and packed it up along with the rope. After a quick check inside the den, I had everything I had come with, as well as a spear. I used my belt to secure the spear haphazardly to my back and promised myself I would try to find a better strap. I slung one pack over each shoulder and began walking towards the mountain, letting myself cry over the deaths of my alliance. At least it made me seem human.

I was close to the cave when the sky began to darken. I decided that it was best to set up camp for the night and try to join up with the cave dwellers tomorrow. I climbed a tree and opened first my pack, to get a piece of fruit, and then Gadall's to get the rope to tie myself to the tree. While getting the rope, I saw a pair of fingerless gloves that I put on, savoring the extra warmth. I decided that I would do a full inventory later, and tied the plastic around my waist as a sleeping bag and the other end of the rope around the trunk. When I had finished working, the Capitol anthem began to play, and I watched as the faces appeared: Fia, Serephine, Gadall, and the girl from Eight – she must have been the one killed by Muna. I pushed my two packs together to make a weird pillow and slept uncomfortably in the tree, hoping I was correct when I guessed who occupied the cave, and hoping I would be welcome.


	26. Alliance

The morning brought with it cramped muscles and melted snow. I was grateful for the plastic I had tied loosely around myself; it had kept me dry. I untied myself from the tree and the plastic, then bundled everything into my backpack. I pulled the cheese from my pack and began nibbling on it as I climbed from the tree and resumed my journey to the cave. The sun was beginning to set when I reached the edge of the forest.

I looked out at the mountain. It wasn't far, maybe a minute's sprint, but lying in between was the clearing with the Cornucopia, and on the side opposite the cave, the Career camp. I remembered Stava's arrows and knew that she could kill me off with a well-aimed strike, if she was standing guard. It would take a long time to skirt the edge of the forest, though, and it would be dark when I reached it.

Throwing caution to the wind, deciding that I would at least be out of the Games if I were dead, I broke cover and sprinted to the cave. My two backpacks, as well as Muna's spear, were threatening to overbalance me, and I was at the very edge of the mountain when I stumbled into the snow. I picked myself up quickly, hoping I hadn't soaked my clothes, and saw that I was just to the side of the cave entrance. Here goes nothing.

I stepped into view of whoever was in the cave and took another bite of cheese. I had guessed correctly – Astrid and Axle were staring at me in confusion as they sat around their fire. Well, I wasn't dead yet.

"Hi. Room for one more?" I held out the cheese as a bit of a peace offering.

"Cazzie?" Figures, Axle would be the one to recognize me.

"That's me. As you probably saw in the sky, my alliance is gone, and I'm really a people person. Would you be willing to let me join you?"

"What do you have to offer?" Astrid asked before Axle did anything rash.

"Well, let's see. I've got cheese," I tossed the hunk to Astrid, who caught it, "a pack full of supplies which I haven't checked out yet," I took off the supplies pack and laid it on the ground in front of me, "a pack with food, a plastic sheet, rope, and a knife," I set that pack on the floor too, "And a spear, courtesy of Muna Articello, with a sloppy holster." I pointed to the spear on my back. "Oh! And a fairly good knowledge of traps. So, can I join you? I promise not to betray you and kill you in your sleep. You can have my sack of poison berries as proof." I pointed to the backpack containing the nightlock.

"You're in!" Axle piped up before Astrid could shoot me down. She nodded grudgingly. I awkwardly half picked up and half dragged all of my things to the fire. Astrid grabbed my food pack and opened it. Plastic, knife, rope, two and a half bread loaves, a pear, a banana, pine needles, a canteen, and a silver parachute wrapped tightly around a bunch of nightlock berries were all pulled out, examined, and replaced swiftly. Astrid handed me my pack, then moved on to Gadall's. I watched this in anticipation, as I hadn't seen exactly what the pack contained yet. First, she pulled out a strange metal tube that was slanted at one end. None of us could identify it as anything other than a strange weapon, so we put it to the side. Next, carabineers and bungee cords that could make a decent trap. At the very bottom of the bag, Astrid pulled out three more of those thin shirts the Gamemakers were so generously providing. We all got one. It made things a bit warmer, but it wasn't great. Astrid repacked the bag again and we finished off the cheese together.


	27. Gifts

"Is the fire safe?" I asked.

"It won't spread. There's nothing but rock surrounding it." Astrid replied.

"Maybe that wasn't worded right. I meant to ask whether or not anyone could see the smoke and track us down."

Astrid and Axle both looked as if this was a new idea. "We never thought of that. We are on the other side of the Careers, though, and they haven't come yet. The mountain probably blocks any possible sight of the smoke." Axle reasoned.

"That's good. I wouldn't want to get ambushed in the middle of the night."

"Wait, we don't have a bed for you!" Axle suddenly remembered.

"I'm surprised that you have beds at all."

"Well, sleeping bags, really. At the Cornucopia, we got two sleeping bags and a box of matches. The bags are nice and warm, but you need a place to sleep too."

"I've got a piece of plastic and a fire. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Man, Axle was really worried. Any moment he would be giving me his sleeping bag, and I did not want that.

"Yes, I'll be fine. Don't worry."

"Apparently your sponsors are worried," Astrid said calmly. We both turned to look at her, and she pointed at the mouth of the cave. A silver parachute was falling quickly, and soon hit the ground. I ran to retrieve my latest gift. _I seem to be very popular these days. I wonder why. _Unsurprisingly, the gift I had been presented with was a sleeping bag. That was a high-end gift – it must have cost a lot. With a pang of guilt and worry, I hoped that Drevan wasn't going hungry for this bit of warmth I had been presented with. I showed Astrid and Axle my gift, and Astrid nodded serenely while Axle smiled happily. Gee, I wonder which person here liked me more?

Darkness was falling, and it's always good to get some sleep. I stood at the mouth of the cave and looked up at the sky, but there had been no deaths today. I unrolled my bag and crawled in, curling up inside the cocoon of warmth. That was a good gift, I thought as I drifted off to sleep.


	28. Goodbyes

Well, another day, another death. The sound of a cannon firing woke me. I sat up in my sleeping bag and looked around. Astrid and Axle were both breathing, so no worries there. After a quick calculation, I realized that there were only nine people left in the Arena. This might end up being a short game.

Axle shifted in his sleeping bag and opened his eyes. I waved at him. "Good morning sunshine. Astrid's still asleep and someone is dead." He looked shocked. "I heard the cannon, just a minute ago. I guess it's a good thing, though, right? Less competition?" Axle nodded quietly. After a few moments of awkward silence, Astrid decided to wake up. She crawled out of her sleeping bag, and I stared for a moment. Astrid had obviously never experienced bed-head – her white hair had remained sleek throughout the night and as she tugged it into a ponytail, she still managed to look like a queen. During a death match. Where most people starved, and were lucky to be alive, let alone wake up without twigs in their hair, clothes, and backpacks. Well, she should get sponsors easily.

After a quick, silent breakfast of a half-loaf of bread for three people, we began planning our day.

"So, what should we do today?" I asked, trying to start a conversation.

"Not die." Astrid answered simply.

"If we just stay here, eventually the Careers will hunt us down. If we want to survive, we need to go on the offensive." I argued.

"The Careers have other tributes to occupy them for now."

"Just the kids from Ten and the boy from Four, and one of them is probably dead by now."

"The boy from Four is a Career, isn't he?" Axle asked.

"He deserted them."

"Oh. Odd that he would do that."

"Apparently he didn't like the killing."

"Wait, how do you know this?" Astrid raised her eyebrows.

"A few days ago I heard them having a conversation in their camp."

"You've _been _to their camp?" Axle was wide-eyed.

"Yeah. Shockingly enough, I got out alive – though the guy from Seven didn't. If I were you, I would stay away. Stava has incredible skill with her arrows and won't think twice about showing it."

"But…"

"What?"

"If you know where they are, and they don't know that you know, we have an advantage! We could set a trap, or-"

"Absolutely not!" Astrid interrupted. "I will not allow any of you to put your lives at risk like that. We have a better chance of surviving if we wait. The Careers will kill themselves off easily enough. There's no need to rush into things."

"Rushing into things might be our only way of getting out alive. We shouldn't just wait around for the Careers to pick us off one by one – if we don't go on the offensive, we're just sitting ducks." I shot back. Sure, Astrid was keeping me alive, but now was not the time to act like an overprotective mother.

"We will stay here for as long as we can, until danger is imminent. If you feel different, you may leave." Astrid sat back on her sleeping bag, satisfied. I looked at Axle, wondering if he was taking a side at all in this, but he was looking away. Astrid was looking back at me pointedly.

Well, I wasn't going to be a sitting duck. If they wanted to wait and be killed, good for them. I wanted to make it out of here alive, and they were holding me back. I stood and said, "Fine, I'll leave you to be killed. Have some bread." I tossed the remainder of my bread in their general direction and stuffed all of my things back into their packs. I just carried the sleeping bag. Laden with supplies and indignant grumbles, I walked out of the cave and back into the snow.

Now what?


	29. Hunting

I was alone again. There was no use in getting too close to people, of course, but the moment I was alone I began thinking that I didn't have the skills to make it on my own. I had just given away my last morsel of food apart from the little nub of cheese there was in my backpack.

Well, first things first – shelter and food. I ran back to the forest, hoping as I had the first time that Stava had decided to ignore me and wasn't incredibly accurate this far from camp. She might not even be on lookout, of course, but everything should be considered out here. Once I reached the tree line and had significant cover, I stopped and thought. How to proceed? I guess food was my first priority. Maybe I could set a trap of some kind.

I spread my plastic on the ground and sat, then set my packs in front of me. I first pulled out the rope and bungee cords, as they had the greatest chance of being something I could use. After sifting through my pack multiple times, tying and untying various knots in the rope, and continuously failing to determine what the metal tube was used for, I decided it was useless and I could survive off of my remaining scraps for a few days. My next priority was water. I knew where the waterfall was, but I would avoid the Careers as much as possible if I could help it until I had sufficient survival tools.

Of course, the waterfall was just the source for a river that probably flowed through the entire Arena. With enough luck, I could find it and refill my canteen there. I packed all of my things back into my backpacks and resumed wandering. I had only been walking for a few minutes before my false sense of peace was ripped from my mind.

"Just keep going forward, we'll hit the clearing and go back to camp." A girl was speaking as if her audience was much slower than she was.

"We get it, Muna. We know how this arena is set up just as much as you do." Another female voice. I knew it was Stava, because she was the only girl Career left. I couldn't see them, but knew the voices were coming from my right, so I veered to my left and began hoisting myself up a tree. Once I was high enough to not be seen at first glance, I pulled Muna's spear from its sloppy holster and held it in one hand. I waited and watched.

Soon enough, Muna, Stava, and Veris were right where I had been moments ago. They didn't even look at me once as they passed, making their way to the clearing that housed the Cornucopia. I was safe.


	30. Danger

But Axle and Astrid weren't. The Careers were heading straight towards the mountain, and from their angle would see the cave. They were sure to investigate, and I doubted Astrid and Axle were likely to win against three Careers. I had to warn them – right? I mean, this was, after all, a death match. If they survived to the end, I would have to kill them myself. Would a death that wasn't at my hands be better for both of us? Just to… get things over with?

But I couldn't do that. Not to them. They let me into their cave, and they didn't exactly kick me out – I left. What kind of person would I be, to not even try to rescue them?

I dropped silently from the tree and began following the already-disappearing footprints of the Career pack. Soon, I could see them through the trees and began moving away from them at a curve, trying to reach the clearing before they did. I ran as fast as I could without making too much noise, as I didn't want to draw the Careers towards me. I pushed myself to run faster, knowing that they were far faster than I was anyway.

I hit the clearing and stopped, breathing deeply for a few moments. I looked along the tree line and saw Muna, Stava, and Veris standing just outside of the tree's coverage. Stava was pointing at the cave. I could only just make out their voices.

"We should check it out." Stava was saying.

"What's the point?" Veris grumbled.

Muna sighed in annoyance. "There could be _tributes _in there, Veris. Tributes we can _kill. _And if it's empty, we have a place to stay later. Let's go."

I knew this was it. I couldn't just run out and warn them, though – Stava had her bow and arrows with her, and I would be an easy target. I began skirting the edge of the clearing, trying to move quickly but stay behind the trees, just far enough out to keep an eye on what was happening. The three Careers were walking straight through the clearing, nothing to fear. I knew I wouldn't get there in time, but I kept running, not knowing what else to do. I was nearing the mouth of the cave, the Careers almost there as well, when a silver parachute bearing a gift came falling through the trees. I jumped up to grab it – and looked at it in confusion.


	31. Battle

A piece of paper, a pencil, and some string. What use were writing materials at a time like this? I held the gift in my hands, the silver parachute dropping to the ground, and had a sudden thought. I pulled Muna's spear from its holster and set it on the snow, then quickly scrawled, "C_areers coming,_" on the paper. I tied the message to the spear with the string, stood at the tree line facing the mouth of the cave, and launched the spear as best I could into the cave. It landed just inside. There was a shriek, then a scrabbling, and I knew my message had been received. I had provided them with a weapon – just as the Career pack reached them. I didn't think they had seen the spear, as they didn't talk about it or veer towards me at all, but they were there, and now I had to think.

I heard Axle's voice coming from the cave but couldn't tell what he was saying. I heard laughter, then the twang of a bow and a crunching sound. Astrid screamed, then whatever was happening became jumbled as I could only hear the garbled shrieks and grunts that came with a fight. I ran halfway to the cave, then back, wanting to help but not knowing how. I dropped to the ground and pawed through my pack, looking for my knife – but I was too late.

A cannon sounded. The three Careers came walking out of the cave, blood-spattered and smiling. One of Muna's spears was bloody as well as two of Stava's arrows. They skirted the edge of the mountain until they were out of sight, probably at camp. When they were safely out of the way, I ran into the cave.

There were smears of blood on the floor. Astrid lay sprawled on the ground near her sleeping bag, blood pooling from a large wound in her forehead as well as multiple others in less deadly places. She wasn't breathing. I turned to look at Axle. His entire front was soaked with his own blood. I saw one hole in his shirt right around where his heart should be. Stava must have shot him there and removed the arrow. I ran over to him, knowing that it was useless. A rattling breath escaped from his throat. I sat next to him and looked at him hopelessly, not knowing what else to do. Axle's eyes fluttered open and locked with mine. I reached for his hand compulsively and closed my hand around his cold fingers. Axle whispered something unintelligible. I leaned closer to him.


	32. Loss and Gain

"What?" I whispered.

"I tried… tried to help her but…" Axle whispered in his ravaged, hoarse voice.

"Of course, of course, but it's okay, really it is, Stava shot you, you couldn't have done much." I said, babbling.

"But she… she did so much for… for me…" Axle was slipping, I could tell. "She had… clothes… but wouldn't wear them…"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Sleeping… bag…" Axle coughed, splattering my face with blood, and moved his head to acknowledge Astrid's sleeping bag. I didn't want to investigate it yet, not while Axle was dying right in front of me. He had closed his eyes and his breathing was becoming shallower. I tried to think of something consoling to say, but I could only hold Axle's hand as he grew weaker and weaker.

A cannon sounded. Axle was completely still.

I moved to Astrid's sleeping bag and quickly noticed the large lump at the end. I stuck my hand into it and pulled out a jacket and a fur-lined hat. Astrid had never worn them as far as I could tell, though. She must have refused to, to keep herself on equal terms with Axle. Now, I supposed they were mine to keep.

Now who was left? I was sure about me, Muna, Stava, Veris, and at least one kid from Ten. The cannon in the morning could have been Riegan, Koter or the other Ten tribute. I wouldn't know until it got dark, but that was happening soon. I pulled on the jacket and hat Axle had basically given me, and whispered, "Thank you." I realized that since Astrid and Axle were in their cave, the hovercraft couldn't get to them. Should I drag them out for the Capitol, or leave them there?

Well, they were probably angry with me already – what's one more strike against them? I settled them so that they looked more peaceful, then spread out my own sleeping bag. It took a moment for me to realize that I was being very casual about the deaths I had just witnessed. I must be getting desensitized to all of the violence in this place.

I stood at the mouth of the cave and looked up at the sky as it darkened. The Capitol anthem began to play, and I stared in shock at the face of Riegan. How had a Career been killed? I knew who was coming next, and decided not to stay to watch as my second alliance's faces flashed across the sky. There was a big day ahead, maybe the last day in the arena. There were only seven of us left now. The Games had become a free-for-all, and I had one advantage that I planned to use.


	33. Camps and Plans

I realized when I woke up that it had been barely a week since the Games began. If I was lucky – or unlucky – they might only last one more day. I rolled up my sleeping bag and shoved it unceremoniously into Gadall's pack. I took one last look around my third temporary home in the Arena, then walked out of the cave and sprinted back to the trees.

I stayed near the tree line and skirted the edge of the forest, the way I had yesterday, only this time I was heading towards the Career camp. I knew what I wanted to do, and now there was nothing stopping me. My water supplies were running low too, so I had another reason to head that way – pine needles and fresh water. I walked for at least half an hour without feeling any fatigue. I had a goal and I wouldn't stop until I reached it.

I heard the waterfall gurgling over the rocks and rushed to it. I stood in the trees, not wanting to give away my location until I was sure that there weren't any Careers on guard duty. After a minute, I heard raised voices coming from the camp, and knew I was safe. I climbed up the waterfall, darted to the pine tree, and hid to listen.

"I'm _not _staying here while you go out and do everything!" Stava shouted. "No one, I repeat _no one _knows where we are, and they couldn't do anything if they did!"

"Fine, Stava. Jeez, if we were hidden before we sure aren't know, with a tantrum like that." Veris muttered.

"Well, if we want to get rid of the Tens and the Nine girl, we should get going now. Stava, get your bow, Veris, your mace. I'll meet you at the tree." Muna strode over to what must have been her tent and went inside. Stava and Veris followed her lead, and I knew I didn't have much time before they found me. Well, they wouldn't, of course. I jumped to the lowest branch of the tree and pulled myself up further and further, until I was safely hidden. Half a minute later, the three remaining Careers trooped under the tree and into the forest. I watched and waited as the disturbances in the trees grew far away, then dropped from my hiding place and walked into their camp. It was interesting that right now, the lion's den was where I was safest.

I slipped one arm out of my backpack and swung it in front of me, rummaging around for my nightlock. I grabbed the silvery parachute and unwrapped the package of berries. It didn't take long to find the food – there was one tent that none of the Careers had entered when they were getting their weapons to go hunting. It was full of food, canteens, and sleeping bags that could have given a warm bed to everyone in the Arena before anyone died. It wasn't hard to find a small bag of dark blue berries that would easily conceal the nightlock amongst them. I dumped all but three berries into the bag and didn't mix them around at all – I wanted the Careers to eat these quickly. I set the bag where it was in full view from the door of the tent, so whoever went in to get food would see them and hopefully grab them first. I wanted these Games to be over as much as anyone.

I grabbed a box of crackers and a roll of bandages from a far off corner of the tent, where no one would notice it, and made my way out. The Careers weren't back, of course, so I casually walked out of their camp, placing my new treasures in my pack. I lowered myself to the base of the waterfall, filled my canteen with the river water, and decided to follow the river where it led. If everything worked out, I would no longer have to deal with the Careers. I only had Koter and the Ten tributes to worry about. I followed the river for hours. Nothing happened. I wondered if the Careers had found the berries, if they knew the berries were poisonous, if the Arena ever ended. I had nothing to do but think and walk as I followed the river's twisting path.

Two cannons sounded, one almost directly after the other. Was that the Careers? The Ten tributes? Koter bringing down his attacker with him? I would know soon enough. Whoever it was, there were still four other tributes left. Four more people needed to die in order for someone to win. And if I wanted to win, I needed to make sure I wasn't one of those four.

I stopped walking when I reached a spot where the river doubled back on itself. I sat at the base of a tree a few feet away from the river with my back to the water. There had been enough walking for one day, and now I needed to think. I had chosen a good place to stop – the river surrounded me on all sides except one, so I would be difficult to sneak up on. If I had time, I could set up traps, then find some way to attract victims.

Making traps sounded like a good idea. I had to figure out how to make some with what I had. I spread out what I had on the snow in front of me, and began brainstorming what I could do with what I had. I could find some way to shoot my knife at a passerby – but aiming would be near impossible. I could always use the classic rope snare, but actual human tributes, especially the ones who had managed to get this far, were much harder to fool than practice dummies. What else could I do?

My gaze lighted on the spear. Could I do something with that? I picked up some of the bungee cords I had, looked at the carabineers, and began making a plan.


	34. Trap

The metal tube proved to be useful – the spear could sit inside with some wiggle room and still be kept stationary. I took it and held it next to a tree, trying to see how I would attach the two. Thinking on the spot, I took out my knife and used it to take apart one of the carabineers. I took the straight metal rod and jammed it into the tree until there was only a half-inch outside of the bark. Then, I used my knife again to stab a hole in the metal tube. With some shoving and hole widening, I managed to get the tube onto the rod. It wasn't the best, but the tube stayed on the tree and the spear could still fit through, which was all that mattered.

The next step was going to be more difficult. I had to find a way to secure my bungee cord to the tree. From where I had placed the tube, the bungee cord could be hooked onto a branch above it, but there was nothing below. I could find a way to use another carabineer, but what I really needed was a U-shaped piece of metal. In fact, there were a couple of things I would be grateful for - some sort of strong thread or twine, a notch that I could fit on the back of the spear that would also fit on the bungee cord, some sort of clasp… The idea had seemed so simple in my head, but I didn't have all the materials I needed to make the trap really well.

Did my sponsors? I could ask, but surely I didn't have the money for such high-end gifts? I didn't want my parents to go hungry for a trap that might not work, especially if I wasn't going to end up winning. Maybe I could just ask for one of the things I needed, and make do without the rest – even one thing could help me greatly.

"A spear-sized nock," I said plainly and clearly. They probably couldn't get it for me anyway. If they could, it would help, but I could probably figure out something else. I had made it this far using some ingenuity and a whole lot of luck. There might even be some supplies I need in the Career tents – why hadn't I stolen more?

Something fell at my feet. A gift! I tore off the parachute, opened the package, and almost shrieked with joy before I realized that wouldn't be a good idea. I had been sent a nock, some extra-strength glue, and a roll of fishing line for good measure.

"Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I said as I began gluing the nock onto the spear. Was it stupid to ask for more? I could use some other supplies, but I didn't want to deplete any of my or my family's resources. Would it hurt to ask?

"Three U-Shaped metal rods," I said clearly. I tested the nock on the bungee cord, smiling at how easily the two fit. This trap might prove to be a game-changer for me.

A package dropped at my feet once again. I opened, it, and wasn't surprised to see the three rods I had asked for.

"Thank you!" I declared, and then started putting the finishing touches on the trap – two U-rods were jammed into the tree above and below the tube, and I hooked the bungee cord onto them. I pushed the cord onto the nock on the spear, then pulled the spear back until the bungee cord was straining. I jammed the last U-rod into the tree at the very end of the spear, keeping it from shooting forward. As I stepped back and admired my work, I realized that I had basically just created a very large-scale bow and arrow.


	35. Food

Now that I had something to defend myself with, I could relax. I opened my box of crackers and started snacking on them, drinking from my canteen. There wasn't much to do out here when your life wasn't threatened. I remembered the knife I still had in my pack, and could go hunting if I wanted to. I would have to cook whatever I caught, of course, and that would attract attackers – I still had the knife and my trap, of course. I could probably survive. Now, I knew there were squirrels here – what about birds, or big game? I was close to the river; there could be fish there. Actually, that sounded like a plan – I wouldn't stray too far from my camp, and if I was lucky I could get something else to eat.

I walked to the river and sat, looking at the water, trying to see if there were any fish. I knew the water would be freezing cold, and I didn't want to wade into the deepest parts if I didn't have to. Within a few minutes, I saw a small gray fish dart past me. Well, that confirmed that there were fish – now what? Slowly, I placed my hand in the water, biting my lip and forcing myself to ignore the cold. I kept my hand still, waiting patiently, and soon I was used to the temperature. After another minute or so of waiting, another fish swam by, slower this time. It approached my hand, cautiously, then darted away before I had time to even think about grabbing it. The next fish that came, faster than the second one, spent more time at my hand. It began to move away, slowly – and before it could get any further, I moved my hand as fast as I could, closing my fist around the fish's body. I pulled it out of the water, and it began flipping itself around without warning. Out of the water, the fish was much harder to hold onto, and I stood up and rushed back to my tree so that if I dropped it, I wouldn't drop it right back into the water.

I realized after a moment that I still had my knife in my other hand. I tightened my grip on the fish, which had begun to struggle less, and held the knife over its head. I took a deep breath, realizing that this would be my first direct kill. Well, a girl's got to eat! I pushed the knife into the neck of the fish, hoping I had severed its spinal cord and that it had died quickly. It had definitely stopped moving. Now that it was still, I could be a bit more thorough. I sliced off the head completely, tossing it behind my back into the river, then sliced open the bottom of the fish the way other tributes had in previous Games. I cut it open all the way, cringing slightly, and dumped the innards I wouldn't want to eat back into the river, as well as the bones. Now, I had a simple little fillet – not bad for a first time. Cooking it wouldn't be too hard - I just needed a fire. In the middle of a forest, fuel wouldn't be hard to find, and I had a box of matches with me. I would probably have enough time to cook and eat the fish before the smoke attracted any Careers. I knew there was at least one still alive.


End file.
